Cage and guide construction for a ball-type valve

ABSTRACT

A cage and guide construction for a ball-type valve, used for example in a subsurface pump. The cage has spaced apart internal shoulders which have confronting grooves. The guide pieces lie between the shoulders and have lips received in the grooves to lock them in place. The guide pieces can be either metal or elastomer and are not distorted when inserted or removed.

I I Ulllted States Patent 1 1111 3,724,496 Secrist [4 1 Apr, 3, 1973 s41CAGE AND GUIDE CONSTRUCTION 2,682,281 6/1954 Ecker ..131/s33.13

' FOR A BALL-TYPE VALVE 3,059,667 10/1962 Coleano ..l37/533.l3

[75] Inventor: Walter S. Secrist, Dallas, Tex. Primary Examiner Roben CLNikon [73] Assignee: United States Steel Corporation Attorney-Walt" wood[22] Filed: Nov. 11,1971 21 Appl. N0.I 197,685 [57] ABSTRACT A cage andguide construction for a ball-type valve, used for example in asubsurface: pump. The cage has [2%] :15. (Lil ..137/533.l3 spaced apartinternal shoulders which have confronb 1 nt. grooves. The guide piecesbetween the shoul [58] Field u "13753311,53313253119 ders and have lipsreceived in the grooves to lock 137/539, 54319; 417/554 them in place.The guide pieces can be either metal or elastomer and are not distortedwhen inserted or [56] References Cited removed.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 2,591,174 4/1952mn'inlni... "KEV/533.13

CAGE AND GUIDE CONSTRUCTION FOR A BALL- TYPE VALVE This inventionrelates to an improved cage and guide construction for a ball-typevalve, used for example in a subsurface pump.

A conventional ball-type valve includes an annular seat, a ballcooperable with the seat for stopping flow of fluid through the valve inone direction, and a cage for confining the ball when it is unseated.The cage may be either of the closed-sided type, from which fluiddischarges at the end, or of the open-sided type, from which fluiddischarges through slots in the sides. When fluid is pumped under highpressures and at high velocities, there is need for the ball to beguided as it moves within the cage to prevent it from oscillating andcausing excessive wear. Guides used in cages may be formed either ofhard metal or of elastomer pieces fixed within the cage. Reference canbe made to Yerkes et al. US. Pat. No. l,90l,2l7 or Hammett US. Pat. No.2,085,360 for showings of metal guides used heretofore, and to MartinUS. Pat. No. 2,59l,l74, Ecker US. Pat. No. 2,682,281, or Harris et al.US. Pat. No. 2,937,659 for showings of elastomer guides.

Metal guides are preferred for severe operating conditions, as in pumpsused in deep wells or at high temperatures, but elastomer guides havelonger life under less severe conditions. Cages of most designs canaccommodate only one type of guide, metal or elastomer. With elastomerguides in particular, there has been a problem in assembling the guidesin the cage and in locking them in place. Unless pins or clips are usedas locking means, it has been necessary to distort the guide pieces toinsert or remove them.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved cage and guideconstruction which overcomes the foregoing problems, that is, in whichthe cage can accommodate either metal or elastomer guide piecesinterchangeably, the guide pieces can be inserted or removed withoutdistorting them, and no additional locking means are needed.

A further object is to provide an improved cage and guide constructionwhich affords the foregoing advantages and can be applied to a cage ofeither the closed-sided or open-sided type.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a longitudinal sectional view of a ball-type valve whichembodies a closed-sided cage and guide construction in accordance withmy invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modification in which thecage is open-sided; and

FIG. 4 is a cross section on line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

The valve shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a closed-sided cage 10, aplug 12 threadedly engaged with the lower end ofthe cage, an annularseat 13 fixed within the cage, and a freely movable ball 14 confinedwithin the cage and cooperable with the seat for preventing downwardflow of fluid through the valve. The cagehas a continuous internalshoulder 15. The seat 13 is fixed between the upper face of plug 12 andthe underface of shoulder 15. The valve illustrated isa traveling valveof a subsurface pump, and in this instance the cage is threadedlyconnected to the lower end of a tubular plunger rod 16. The upper end ofthe cage is open. to afford communication with the bore of rod 16 andpermit discharge of fluid. Nevertheless similarly constructed valves maybe used as check number) spaced above the continuous shoulder 15. i

The circumferential spaces between shoulders 20 are indicated at 21. Theunderfaces of shoulders 20 have arcuate grooves 22 confronting thecircular groove 19. A plurality of guide pieces 23, which may be eithermetal or elastomer, lie between shoulders 15 and 20. The guide piecescorrespond in number to shoulders 20, and have arcuate lips whichprotrude from their bottom and top faces and are received in grooves 19and 22 respectively. The guide pieces have overhanging portions 24 whichserve to confine the ball 14.

In assembling the structure, I insert the guide pieces 23 through theopen upper end of cage 10 in the spaces 21 between shoulders 20. Thebottom lips of the guide pieces enter groove 19, while the top lips arecircumferentially aligned with grooves 22. I next rotate each guidepiece through the are necessary for its top lip to lie fully withinaygroove 22, in this instance about I fix the guide pieces in place byapplying any suitable adhesive, which I may apply to the backs of theguide pieces or merely place in grooves 19 or 22 next to the guidepieces. Alternatively I may peen the material beside grooves 22 next tothe guide pieces or weld small beads therein.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cage 29 has a pluralityof slots 30 (illustrated as three in number) in its side walls, throughwhich fluid discharges to the space around the valve. The upper end ofthe cage has a wall 31 and is connected to a solid plunger rod 32. Thevalve comprises a seat 33 and ball 34, and the cage has a continuousinternal shoulder 35 similar to the valve shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Alsothe upper face of shoulder 35 has a similar continuous circular groove36. Slots 30 divide the outer edge of wall 31 into a correspondingnumber of circumferentially spaced segmental shoulders 37. Theunderfaces of shoulders 37 have arcuate grooves 38. A plurality of guidepieces 39, which can be identical to the guide pieces 23 of FIGS. 1 and2, lie between shoulders 35 and 37 with their bottom and top lipsreceived in grooves 36 and 38 respectively. I assemble the structure inthe same manner as the structure shown in FIG. 1, except that I insertthe guide pieces 39 through the slots 30 in the side walls of cage 29.

From the foregoing description :it is seen that my invention afiords asimple cage and. guide construction. In both embodiments illustrated,the guide pieces can be of rigid metal or of a resilient elastomer. Theguide pieces are locked in place in the cage by engagement of theirbottom and top lips within grooves in the cage, thus dispensing with theneed for pins or clips. It is not necessary to distort the guide piecesin any way to insert or remove them.

I claim:

1. In a valve, which comprises a cage, a seat fixed within said cage, aball confined within said cage and cooperable withsaid seat forpreventing flow of fluid in one direction through the valve, and guidemeans in said cage for said ball, an improved cage and guideconstruction comprising an internal shoulder within said cage, aplurality of circumferentially spaced segmental internal shoulderswithin said cage spaced from said first-named shoulder, said first-namedshoulder having a circular groove, said second-named shoulders havingarcuate grooves confronting said circular groove, and a plurality ofguide pieces lying between said first and said second-named shoulders,each of said guide pieces having lips at its opposite ends receivedrespectively in said circular groove and in one of said arcuate groovesto lock the guide pieces within said cage, said cage having at least oneopening through which said guide pieces can be inserted into the spacesbetween said second-named shoulders and rotated to lock them in thecage.

2. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which the opening in said cage is inone end.

3. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which there are a plurality ofopenings in the form of slots in the sides of the cage.

4. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which the guides pieces are insertedand removed through said opening without distorting them and may beeither rigid metal or resilient elastomer.

1. In a valve, which comprises a cage, a seat fixed within said cage, a ball confined within said cage and cooperable with said seat for preventing flow of fluid in one direction through the valve, and guide means in said cage for said ball, an improved cage and guide construction comprising an internal shoulder within said cage, a plurality of circumferentially spaced segmental internal shoulders within said cage spaced from said first-named shoulder, said first-named shoulder having a circular groove, said second-named shoulders having arcuate grooves confronting said circular groove, and a plurality of guide pieces lying beTween said first and said second-named shoulders, each of said guide pieces having lips at its opposite ends received respectively in said circular groove and in one of said arcuate grooves to lock the guide pieces within said cage, said cage having at least one opening through which said guide pieces can be inserted into the spaces between said second-named shoulders and rotated to lock them in the cage.
 2. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which the opening in said cage is in one end.
 3. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which there are a plurality of openings in the form of slots in the sides of the cage.
 4. A valve as defined in claim 1 in which the guides pieces are inserted and removed through said opening without distorting them and may be either rigid metal or resilient elastomer. 